


Raised Wrong: A Newsies Fanfiction

by Alicorn8210



Category: Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: A child gets shot, Abuse, Child Abuse, Child Death, Child Labor, Childhood, Childhood Trauma, Children Working, Children Working On The Street, Crippled Children, Domestic Violence, Gen, Handicapped Children, Heartwrenching, Implied Lesbian Crush, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Minor Character Death, Partner Abuse, Period-Typical Child Labor, Pre-Canon, Sad, Seems to Keep Getting Worse, Somewhat major character death, Verbal Abuse, alcoholic parent, chapters, implied lesbian character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:22:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23762263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alicorn8210/pseuds/Alicorn8210
Summary: A look into Jack Kelly's childhood. It's not a pretty picture...
Kudos: 10





	1. 1887

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We are introduced to five-year-old Jack Kelly and his family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place in the years before the story, showing us what Jack's childhood looked like. It involves OCs of his siblings that I made up. Sorry if this sucks, but I tried.
> 
> Also, I'm not misspelling things. I'm just trying to write for their accents.
> 
> Enjoy!

It was a cold winter day. The snowflakes in the air seemed to beat down on anyone who dared walk underneath them. Cold air bit at any bare skin it could find. The sky was a black void that made the snowflakes high up in the air look like stars.

One of the few people walking amongst the streets on this bitter day was a small 5-year-old boy. Jack Kelly walked quickly through the streets, hunched over in order to look as inconspicuous as possible. For he knew that if any woman saw him, she’d immediately run up to him and say any variation of, “Oh my goodness! What are you doing out in this cold?” And that would lead to her trying to take him to her house to give him some soup or whatever, which would lead to him not getting home on time, which would lead to...well, Jack didn’t really want to think about that.

But if any woman did stop and fuss over Jack, you really couldn’t blame her. He barely had anything on-just a shirt, some ripped pants, and a cap. Not to mention his little face was just so sad and cute that anyone with at least half a heart would look at him and lose whatever amount of heart they DID have to him.

Jack kept walking until he got to a door. No-not just A door. THE door. Behind this door were some of the worst memories any human being could ever imagine...well, in MY opinion, at least...

Behind this door was a crazy man, a broken woman, five hardened children, and one innocent one who had yet to experience the true cruelties of this Earth.

Behind this door was his house.

Exhaling slowly, he opened the door.

Pretty much empty. _Well, no surprise dere..._ , thought the boy. His older siblings were probably either still working or heading home.

He couldn’t see his mother or father anywhere. His father did work, but he was usually home by now.

 _Prob’ly wanderin’ ‘round the streets in a drunken ‘aze tryin’ a find ‘is way home..._ , Jack concluded. Yes, he was five, but he was also very smart and perceptive for his age. Growing up in an environment like this does that to you.

Suddenly, his gaze landed on a little bundle in the far corner. And it was a bundle Jack recognized.

“Willy?!” Jack called out. The bundle shifted slightly, indicating a nod.

Jack ran over to the bundle-OK, FINE, I’ll call him a kid. Geez. He went over to the kid and wrapped his arm around him, infusing the toddler with a protective aura.

“Hiya, Jackie,” Willy mumbled nervously with a muffled voice. The boy was a precious little thing. He had messy blonde hair, the messiest you’ve ever seen. He was wearing pretty much exactly what Jack was wearing, except it was smaller and he had no cap. He was Jack’s only younger sibling-an untainted mind that Jack felt he had to protect from being corrupted.

“What’s wrong?” Jack whispered, attempting to calm the boy down.

“D-d-daddy wen’ into a room wit m-mommy...a-and ‘e started yellin’...and m-mommy started screamin’...a-and...,” The boy couldn’t even finish before he started sobbing into his knees.

That was weird. When Jack came in, he hadn’t heard any...

“WOULD’YA JUST SHUT YA GODDAMN MOUTH FA ONCE, WOMAN?!”

He just HAD to go and jinx it.

Jack knew what was coming. It was inevitable. After a verbal beatdown, a physical one always followed.

CRACK!

“AAAAAAH!”

Yep-there it was.

CRACK!

“AAAAAAH!”

And there it was again.

CRACK!

“AAAAAAH!”

And again.

CRACK!

“AAAAAAH!”

And again.

CRACK!

“AAAAAAH!”

Aaaaaand again.

But even though this was nothing new to Jack, he couldn’t stop the tears. Those cries...such palpable fear and pain. It destroyed him every time.

Little Willy wasn’t doing much better, either. His little face was all red with sadness and fear. Jack rubbed his back in a circular motion in an attempt to calm him down, but it took a minute or two after the cycle of cracking and screaming for the two boys to get their act together.

But if there was one thing Jack Kelly knew, it’s that after Mr. Edward Kelly had a “session” with his wife Ruth, he was NOT to be messed with for a solid two hours. Then again, he was NEVER to be messed with. He was a drunk, after all. His hand had a bottle in it 50% of the time-the other 50%, it had a horsewhip in it. I’ll let you do the math.

Luckily, their house had a fire escape off to the side of it, so Jack picked up Willy and started to walk there.

“Wow-ya gettin’ big! Ya know dat?” Jack tried to lighten the mood, but things were still pretty tense.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was still snowing when Jack and Willy walked out onto the fire escape, but not as intensely as it had been when Jack was walking home. The sky was still pitch black, and the air was still biting at the two boys like a dog.

“Look!” Willy pointed to the sky. “Da stars are fallin’! We gotta get ‘em back up dere!”

Jack couldn’t help but giggle at his baby brother’s innocence. “No, Willy,” Jack corrected gently with a playful tone to his voice. “Dat’s called snow,”

“Snow?” the child repeated. Suddenly, a snowflake fell on his nose.

“Ah! Snow ‘s cold!” the boy exclaimed in surprise.

Jack giggled again. Oh, to be young and pure again...

“Enjoyin’ the winta weatha, ya two?”

Jack turned around at the sound of the familiar voice. A young woman with straight blond hair and crimson eyes stood there, a satchel around her shoulder. It was 17-year-old Margaret, his older sister, and the oldest kid in the family.

“Yeh,” Jack nodded. “S’actually not dat bad out,”

Margaret nodded her head in agreement and walked over next to them. “So, uh...lemme guess?”

“Yep,” Jack replied, knowing what she meant. He felt the tears in his eyes start to well up again.

Margaret, seeing Jack start to cry, put her hand on his shoulder. “‘Ey now-don’t start cryin’!” she comforted. “‘R else you’ll git frozen tears stuck in ya eyes fir da resta your life!”

Jack laughed at Margaret’s joke. In a weird way, it made him feel better.

“De udders ur here,” Margaret added. As if on cue, a boy shorter than Margaret but taller than Jack with short brown hair, pale skin, and innocent yet scared eyes appeared from the doorway.

Jack turned back to look at the boy. “‘Ey, Robby,” he greeted.

Indeed, it was 15-year-old Robby, Jack’s second oldest sibling. He trembled as he walked over to his siblings.

“H-h-hi, g-g-guys,” Robby shakily said, looking down.

Before Robby had appeared, Jack had wanted to talk to Margaret about the situation with their father. But now he kept it in, ready to bring it up later in a private situation. Robby didn’t like hearing about their father. It scared him.

**He’d had enough of him already.**

Then, Jack’s third oldest sibling, 14-year-old Lillian (called “Lily” by everyone she knew) came in, hands on her hips, and surveying her surroundings with a firm glare. She had dark brown hair done up in a braid falling to the middle of her spine. She had big brown eyes, long eyelashes, freckles, and somewhat tan skin. Unfortunately, her rather pretty appearance caused others to accidentally get themselves in trouble by attempting to flirt with her. You’ll see why.

“‘Ey, Lily,” Jack greeted, moving to high-five the girl, only for her to pull a “you’re too slow” on him. Nice.

“How wus ya day, Lily?” Margaret asked.

“T’day wus a good day,” Lily stated, a smug smile on her face. “Sum Brooklyn kid wus gigglin’ at m’name behind m’back, so I socked ‘em REAL good!” She had a confident and boastful glow to her as she recalled the incident.

“Careful sayin’ dose sorta tings ‘round Robby,” Jack warned, motioning towards said boy, who looked at Lily with nervous eyes.

“Ah, da man needs ta learn ta man up anyway!” Lily exclaimed.

Margaret elbowed her little sister, topping off the gesture with a firm glare. Lily, knowing her sister could do even more damage than she could, wisely shut up.

Lily walked over to Jack’s side and gave him a playful punch on the arm. That was a good indication that she hadn’t learned her lesson.

Then, through the doorway came Henry, Jack’s fourth oldest sibling at 13. His hair was a light blonde color and combed down. His big blue eyes were happy, energetic, and inviting. He had a simple smile on his face and his hand on his satchel, patting it.

“‘Ey, guys!” Henry greeted everyone excitedly.

“‘Ey, ‘enry!” Jack smiled and pointed at the aforementioned boy.

“‘Ow ur all a ya doin’ t’night?” Henry asked kindly.

“We doin’ fair,” Lily stated firmly and semi-loudly. Margaret nodded in agreement. She looked at Robby, and he, after looking at her and then Henry, gave a shaky and unsure nod.

“‘Ey, guess what? I sold all m’papes t’day!” Henry sounded excited.

“Good f’you, ‘enry,” Margaret had a kind look on her face.

“‘ **EY**! STOP STANDIN’ IN FRON’ A DA DOORWAY!” a high-pitched yet firm voice shouted in frustration.

Pushing Henry out of her way, Mildred, an 8-year-old girl with bright, wavy blonde hair and a small, frilly pink dress with white lace walked onto the balcony. She was Jack’s fifth oldest sibling.

“Aren’t ya usu’lly home a bit earlier dan dis?” Jack asked, seeing as how that was normally the case.

“WHAT’S IT **TO** YA?!” she yelled at Jack, giving him an angry slap to the cheek.

Margaret quickly knocked Mildred over the head with her hard knuckles.

“Now, what’s wrong, Mildred?” Margaret asked, still glaring at her.

“Well, ya see, Miss Medda told me ‘er an’ da Bow’ry Beauties were rehearsin’ fir a show,” Mildred explained, looking a little upset. “I asked ‘er if I could be a part of it, and she said I'se was ‘too young’,” The way Mildred said “too young” was very whiny.

“Mildred, ya KNOW we need ta keep workin’ ta help da fam’ly,” Margaret said disappointedly, trying to show her little sister the error of her ways.

“WHAT fam’ly? Feels like it’s just us fendin’ fir ourselves,” Mildred replied sassily.

“Well, ya ain’t wrong dere,” Jack agreed.

That happened to be all of the siblings. Now they were just outside on the balcony, staring at the falling snow.

“It’s too cold!” Mildred complained.

“Wouldya shut ya trap?” Lily quipped, annoyed.

“How ‘bout YOU shut YOUR trap?!” Mildred retorted back.

“Cool it, you two!” Margaret shouted. The two proceeded to cool it.

Robby was shivering. Henry went over to hug him. The older boy smiled. And he rarely smiled.

Willy had been just staring at the beautiful snow the entire time. Now, he started to shiver profusely as the cold caught up to him.

Everyone, including Robby, moved in to hug him. The little boy giggled as he gave his siblings kisses. They all cooed at how adorable their baby brother was.

Everyone then resumed staring at the night sky full of snow, ignoring the doom that waited behind them in their apartment.

Just for now, just for this moment, everything was fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure when or even IF this is getting updated, but I'm SO HAPPY that I FINALLY FINISHED THIS CHAPTER!
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! Kudos, bookmarks, and comments about what you liked are GREATLY appreciated!


	2. 1888

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack, now six, heads to work on his first day as a newsie, meeting someone very special on the way...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well.
> 
> I sure wasn’t expecting THIS to become my most popular story.
> 
> People just really like Newsies, don’t they…?
> 
> Never mind-enjoy!

Jack put the strap of his brand-new satchel over his head. Even though it was a hot and humid day outside, Jack had a huge smile on his face.

Placing his cap on his head, Margaret smiled at her little brother. “Well, Jackie…” she said in a proud way. “Ya fin’lly ready ta falla da fam’ly leg’cy,”

Jack smiled even more. “I’ma be da bes’ newsie New York City’s eva seen!”

Margaret giggled. She remembered her first day as a newsie. The joy came back to her.

“Now, GIT out dere an’ SELL SUM PAPES!” Margaret cried excitedly.

Jack bolted out the door. He had passed the Newsboy Lodging House many times on his way to and from his shoe-shining job, so he knew exactly where it was.

Turning the final corner and crossing the street, he saw it.

The Newsboy Lodging House.

His new place of employment.

Jack saw some other boys of various ages walking out of the building, also wearing satchels and caps. His excitement grew to immeasurable amounts as he ran up to the group.

One of them, a tall boy with brownish-blonde hair, heard the sound of someone running towards him. He stopped and looked down to see Jack.

“Well, well, well. Whut’ve we got ‘ere?” the boy said in Jack’s direction, bending down to get a good look at him.

“Looks ta me like a new kid!” another tall boy with silky black hair responded.

“Hey dere, kid,” the first boy said to Jack. “Whut’s ya name?”

“Jack,” Jack replied confidently and happily. “Jack Kelly. I’m six,”

“Nice ta meet ya, Jack. I’m Sammy, and dese ur ma friends Jimmy, Sandy, and Pots,”

“Hey,” the other three boys said.

Jack smiled. His new friends seemed to really like him.

Suddenly, a very tall boy walked out of the door. He had a strong jaw, messy yet still very pretty brown hair, a slightly stubbly chin, and a confident look in his eyes.

The boys immediately turned around and looked at him, a sort of admiration on their faces.

“Who’s dis?” the boy asked casually with a smooth, simple tone.

“I’m Jack Kelly!” Jack chirped enthusiastically.

“Nice ta meetcha. M’name’s Jeremy Cook. I’m da leader a da Lowa Manhattan newsies. Ya new here, kid?”

“Yep!”

“Well, den…” Jeremy paused before continuing, putting his hands on his hips. “Welcome ta da fam’ly, kid,” He patted his head. “Now, lemme assign ya a spot,”

Some of the older boys, including Sammy, Jimmy, Sandy, and Pots, gave Jack jealous glares. Jack, however, didn’t see them.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jack was sent to a street corner that had mild-to-moderate traffic. He was the only one there. Grabbing a newspaper from his satchel, he began to try to hawk it.

“Extra! Extra! Git da scoop! Ya heard it right ‘ere!”

But no matter how loud or charismatic (or as charismatic as a six-year-old could be, anyway) he made his voice be, no one stopped to buy a paper. All he got were scoffs and cold shoulders, and those couldn’t buy supper.

Two hours passed, and Jack was starting to give up. Finally, he put his arm down, leaving the paper to hang in his hand.

Suddenly, out of seemingly nowhere, a little boy approached Jack. He looked to be about four. He had messy blonde hair and a brown color scheme. He reminded Jack a lot of Willy.

The main difference?

This boy had a crutch.

The boy, with a cute little smile on his face, tried to grab the paper in Jack’s hand. Jack wasn’t quite sure what to do. He didn’t want to fool around with this boy, but then again, he wasn’t getting any business. Could it really hurt?

But before he could even do anything, a woman ran up to them. She was staring at the boy.

“Oh, you poor thing!” she cooed. “You don’t deserve to be out here in this blistering weather! Here-let me buy a paper!”

Before Jack could even move or say anything, the woman had taken the paper out of his hand and put a quarter where it once was. Then she walked on by.

Jack stared at the quarter in his hand as if it were a gold coin. And, well, to him, it pretty much was. Then he looked at the little boy, who was completely oblivious to what had just happened. A tricky grin spread on his face.

“Hey dere, kid,” Jack started. “Ya wanna help me sell papes?”

“Yeah, yeah!” the boy jumped up and down with excitement.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By the end of the day, the boys had sold every last paper. Jack was beaming. Jeremy would be so proud of him!

Satisfied, Jack looked at the boy. “Well, lil’ buddy?” he said. “We did it,”

“Yay!” the boy cheered in the cutest way possible.

Jack smiled at the boy. “Whatcha name, kid?”

The boy opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, he became lost in thought. He...couldn’t quite remember. Made sense-he was four, after all.

“Eh, neva mind,” Jack said. “How's ‘bout I just call ya Crutchie?”

The boy smiled. “Sure! I like dat!”

Jack’s heart melted. He wanted nothing more than this boy’s safety...well, besides Willy’s, of course. Knowing the day was done, he ran back to the Lodging House with Crutchie, eager to head home and tell his siblings about his first day as a newsie and, more importantly, his new friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that was the second chapter! Now you know how Jack’s first day being a newsie went and, more importantly, how Jack and Crutchie met! Not to mention why Jack exploits children for his own personal monetary gain! :D
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! Kudos, bookmarks, and comments about what you liked are GREATLY appreciated!


	3. 1889

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Margaret Kelly has a question for her father. He...isn't too happy about it, as you might expect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it’s been a while, but I am back with a pretty short chapter that’s more of a transition than anything. Still, I hope you enjoy it! 😊

It was just your average day in the Kelly household. Everyone had come home from their jobs selling papers. When Mr. Kelly got home, everyone made sure not to do anything that might trigger him. Which would be hard, seeing as how everything made him mad when he was drunk. Which was all the time. So basically what I’m trying to say is that Mr. Kelly was always mad.

Everyone was acting a little bit differently. Robby was shaking profusely, even though he knew that if Edward caught him doing that, he’d get whipped for sure. But he couldn’t help it-Edward scared him.

Lily was taking a protective stance, ready to step in if any violence occurred. She was the only one not even a little bit scared of her father-after all, what could HE do to stop her?

Henry was just sitting still in a far-off corner. He didn’t like violence, so his strategy was to try and avoid it altogether.

Mildred just pouted, waiting for the tenseness in the air to dissipate so she could start talking again.

And Jack, of course, was hiding off behind a table while holding Willy, who was terrified.

Suddenly, out of seemingly nowhere, Margaret, the only one I haven’t mentioned yet, tried to approach the beast.

“‘Ey, Pa?” she said, testing the waters.

Edward turned around. “What is it?”

“I was thinkin’...” It seemed as though Margaret was, given the tone in her voice. “I’m ‘bout nineteen. Don’tcha think I should try and git inta college? Or at least try ‘n git anotha job?”

Unfortunately, Margaret had pushed one of Edward’s many buttons. He grabbed her by her shoulders and stared into her eyes intensely. “Now you listen ‘ere, Lil’ Miss! You ain’t never gonna try and git inta no college, and ya CERTAINLY never gonna git a job somewhere else! Ya stay under dis ‘ere roof. Ya understand?” Edward had that “I swear I’m gonna kill you when I get the chance just for asking that question" look in his eyes.

Margaret’s eyes lost their confident look, which was a rare event. “Yes, Pa,” she surrendered weakly.

“‘S what I thought,” Edward let go of her and walked away, clearly not through dealing with Margaret.

Jack, unfortunately, had been listening to this whole ordeal, and now his mind was furiously working.

 _Huh,_ he thought. _Guess I shouldn’t try and git inta college if dat’s da kinda reaction I’ll git._

And with that thought, Jack Kelly had made up his mind. His education would never be complete.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much to say about this chapter, except that I hope that you enjoyed it! Kudos, bookmarks, and comments about what you liked are GREATLY appreciated!
> 
> (Edit: I revised this chapter. Hope you enjoyed the new version! 😊)


End file.
